ABSTRACT
Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the association of body mass index (BMI) with in-hospital mortality and cardiorespiratory outcomes in patients admitted with COVID-19 infection. Methods: This data was collected from an academic tertiary referral center in upstate New York. Retrospective cohort analysis was conducted on patients admitted with COVID-19 infection (n=194). BMI was calculated and patients were stratified into two categories: 'healthy' (BMI=18.5-24.5) and 'overweight' (BMI>25). Cardiorespiratory outcomes were classified as in-hospital mortality, need for vasopressors, mechanical ventilation, and hemodialysis. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed to evaluate for left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction, right ventricular (RV) systolic function and RV dilation. Cardiovascular (CV) risk factors such as history of COPD, Diabetes, HTN, CAD and cigarette smoking were analyzed. LDH, troponin, CRP and ferritin levels were also noted. Results: Out of 194 patients, 68% were overweight with a mean BMI of 29.8 +/-9.5 kg/m2 and a mean age of 66 +/-16, 75% of females and 63% of males were overweight. Mortality rate was 31% in overweight patients compared to 17% in healthy subset (p<0.04). The rate of need for mechanical ventilation was higher in overweight group as well (34% vs. 17%, p<0.02). There was no significant difference between the cohorts in terms of vasopressor and hemodialysis requirement (p=0.09 and 0.2 respectively). RV systolic function was depressed in 21% of overweight cohort vs. 8% of healthy patients (p<0.02) while RV dilatation was seen in 15% of overweight patients compared with 5% of healthy patients (p<0.03). There was no significant difference in LV ejection fraction between the groups. LDH was more frequently elevated in overweight cohort with a mean level of 346 +/-185 IU/L (p<0.01). No significant difference in rest of the laboratory analysis or CV risk factors were found. Conclusion: Elevated BMI (>25) is associated with a statistically significant increase in in-hospital mortality, need for mechanical ventilation, right ventricular abnormalities, and LDH levels in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infection.
ABSTRACT
Background: There is conflicting data in the literature about the association of ABO blood type and susceptibility to COVID-19 infection. Moreover, very few studies have examined the effect of blood type on severity of COVID-19 infection. Methods: This was a retrospective, single-center analysis of adult patients with COVID-19 infection who were hospitalized between March 8th to July 31st, 2020 at a regional tertiary care hospital. All patients who were hospitalized with a diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) infection and had a documented ABO blood type were enrolled in this analysis. Aims of this study were to examine the prevalence of ABO blood types in patients with COVID-19 infection and to determine the frequency of severe COVID-19 infection among ABO blood types. Results: A total of 227 cases were identified. Our cohort had a mean age of 63.3 years and 60% were males. The most common blood type was O (49%) followed by A (36%), which was similar to the prevalence of ABO blood types in our regional population. Moreover, there was no significant difference in the frequency of severe COVID-19 infection between ABO blood types (O: 50%, A: 53%, B: 56%, AB: 57%;P=0.93), or any additional outcomes including in-hospital mortality rate (P=0.72), need for ICU admission (P=0.66), ICU free days at day 28 (P=0.51), hospital free days at day 28 (P=0.43), or need for acute renal replacement therapy (P=0.09). Conclusion: We did not find an increased susceptibility of any blood type to COVID-19 infection, nor was there an increased risk of severe COVID-19 infection in any ABO blood types.